Creative Behaviors Blog Series

Supporting Your Creative Student – Creativity: A 21st Century Skill

“You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say ‘Why not?’” – George Bernard Shaw, Nobel Prize-winning playwright

We often think of creativity as an essential skill for people like painters, musicians and writers. But what about teachers? And engineers? And physicians? The Boston Consulting Group, a global consulting firm, has repeatedly identified creativity as the top strategic priority for organizations worldwide. Creative teams have been found to be more effective and more efficient, and creative organizations tend to be more profitable.

While many schools are busy with memorization and testing, the students at the Da Vinci work to develop real-world skills such as critical thinking, communication and collaboration. Creativity can be an important component of all of these skills.

Teresa Amabile, professor at the Harvard Business School, has suggested that creativity results from a combination of subject expertise, motivation and creative thinking skills.  In the next six posts about creativity, we’ll look at some of the important creative behaviors for our students.

Claudia Bear is a Da Vinci parent, with daughters attending Da Vinci Design and the Innovation Academy. She has a background in both science and the visual arts. In addition to practicing optometry, Claudia is a department manager with Kaiser Permanente, where she manages projects, develops leadership training for managers, and serves on the medical center’s Innovation Design Team.